克羅格 (KR) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Kroger Co. fourth-quarter and full year 2024 earnings conference call.

早上好，歡迎參加 Kroger Co. 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。

(Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

（操作員指示）請注意，此事件正在被記錄。

I'd now like to turn the conference over to Rob Quast, Vice President, Investor Relations.

現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁 Rob Quast。

Please go ahead.

請繼續。

Good morning.

早安.

Thank you for joining us for Kroger's fourth-quarter and full year 2024 earnings call.

感謝您參加 Kroger 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。

I am joined today by Kroger's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ron Sargent, and Interim Chief Financial Officer, Todd Foley.

今天與我一起出席的還有 Kroger 董事長兼執行長 Ron Sargent 和臨時財務長 Todd Foley。

Before we begin, I want to remind you that today's discussions will include forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，今天的討論將包括前瞻性陳述。

We want to caution you that such statements are predictions, and actual events or results can differ materially.

我們想提醒您，這些陳述僅為預測，實際事件或結果可能有重大差異。

A detailed discussion of the many factors that we believe may have a material effect on our business on an ongoing basis is contained in our SEC filings.

我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中詳細討論了我們認為可能持續對我們的業務產生重大影響的許多因素。

The Kroger Company assumes no obligation to update that information.

克羅格公司不承擔更新該資訊的義務。

After our prepared remarks, we look forward to taking your questions.

在發表完準備好的發言後，我們期待回答您的問題。

(Event Instructions)

(活動須知)

I will now turn the call over to Ron.

現在我將電話轉給羅恩。

Thanks, Rob.

謝謝，羅布。

Good morning, everybody.

大家早安。

Thank you for joining our call today.

感謝您今天參加我們的電話會議。

Before we begin, I'd like to just share a few comments.

在我們開始之前，我想分享一些評論。

Kroger has always been committed to its enduring values.

克羅格始終致力於維護其持久的價值觀。

This has been true for Kroger since my first job in the summer of 1974, working in the Fort Mitchell, Kentucky store.

自從 1974 年夏天我在肯塔基州米切爾堡的商店找到第一份工作以來，克羅格的情況一直如此。

In many ways, I grew up at Kroger, working summers in college and then full-time for 10 years following business school.

從很多方面來說，我是在克羅格長大的，大學期間曾在暑假打工，商學院畢業後則全職工作了 10 年。

I've held various roles in stores and manufacturing, human resources, marketing strategy and sales.

我曾在商店和製造、人力資源、行銷策略和銷售領域擔任過各種職務。

Kroger has really been a special place throughout my career in retail, and I'm just as proud to be a Kroger associate today as I was then.

在我的零售業生涯中，克羅格一直是個非常特別的地方，今天我能夠成為克羅格的員工，我感到無比自豪。

I will be serving as the Interim CEO as we search for a leader for our next phase of growth.

在我們尋找下一階段成長的領導者期間，我將擔任臨時執行長。

The Board has formed a search committee and has engaged a nationally recognized search firm.

董事會已成立一個搜尋委員會，並聘請了一家全國知名的搜尋公司。

We look forward to updating you as we have more information.

我們期待在獲得更多資訊後及時向您更新。

As a Board member, I know Kroger's strong leadership team well, and they support the unique culture that powers the company's long-term success.

身為董事會成員，我非常了解 Kroger 強大的領導團隊，他們支持推動公司長期成功的獨特文化。

We care for people, and we love food, the most important elements of successful grocery retail.

我們關心人，我們熱愛食品，這是成功的雜貨零售最重要的因素。

Today, Kroger operates from a position of strength.

如今，克羅格實力雄厚。

We delivered strong financial results in 2024 and have positive momentum in our business.

我們在 2024 年取得了強勁的財務業績，業務勢頭良好。

We're confident in our plans for 2025 and our commitment to deliver total shareholder return of 8% to 11% over time.

我們對 2025 年的計劃以及隨著時間的推移實現 8% 至 11% 的股東總回報的承諾充滿信心。

I will be especially focused on executing with speed and confidence, keeping our teams working toward the priorities that create long-term growth.

我將特別注重快速且自信地執行，讓我們的團隊朝著創造長期成長的優先事項努力。

We're delivering on our go-to-market strategy, providing families across America with fresh and affordable food.

我們正在實施我們的行銷策略，為全美家庭提供新鮮且價格實惠的食品。

In my retail career, I understood that an outstanding customer experience comes from best-in-class store conditions, friendly associates and great products at low prices.

在我的零售生涯中，我了解到卓越的客戶體驗源自於一流的店鋪條件、友善的員工和低廉的優質產品。

That's who Kroger is today and that's who we will be tomorrow.

這就是今天的克羅格，也是明天的我們。

I'll turn the call over to Todd to recap our 2024 performance and how our value creation model allows us to deliver on our goals.

我將把電話轉給托德，回顧我們 2024 年的表現以及我們的價值創造模式如何幫助我們實現目標。

He will then recap our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year '24 and then cover 2025 financial guidance.

然後，他將回顧我們 2024 年第四季和全年的財務業績，然後介紹 2025 年的財務指引。

Todd?

托德？

Thank you, Ron, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，羅恩，大家早安。

Kroger achieved solid results in 2024, demonstrating our value creation model strength and diversity.

克羅格在 2024 年取得了穩健的業績，展現了我們價值創造模式的實力和多樣性。

Our performance improved as the year progressed, and our momentum positions us well for growth as we head into 2025.

隨著時間的推移，我們的業績不斷改善，而我們的勢頭為我們邁向 2025 年做好了良好的成長準備。

Offering fresh, high-quality products with personalized offers through a unique seamless shopping experience led to strong customer engagement trends, including growth in both households and loyalty.

透過獨特的無縫購物體驗提供新鮮、高品質的產品和個人化服務，帶來了強勁的客戶參與趨勢，包括家庭和忠誠度的成長。

As a result, we are growing sales and generating traffic, which accelerates growth opportunities in other areas, including alternative profit businesses.

因此，我們的銷售額和流量都在成長，這加速了其他領域的成長機會，包括替代利潤業務。

We are confident in our ability to build off this space from 2024 and deliver growth in 2025.

我們有信心從 2024 年開始拓展這一領域，並在 2025 年實現成長。

Before we get to 2025, I'd like to start with a recap of last year, beginning with our customers.

在進入 2025 年之前，我想先回顧去年，從我們的客戶開始。

We saw customers adjust their spending habits, responding to ongoing macroeconomic factors.

我們看到消費者根據持續的宏觀經濟因素調整了他們的消費習慣。

The effect of multiyear inflation and higher interest rates pressured spending from budget-conscious households.

多年通膨和高利率的影響給精打細算的家庭帶來了支出壓力。

Meanwhile, spending from less budget conscious households was more resilient and our most favorable household trends were driven by our core mainstream customers.

同時，預算意識較弱的家庭的支出更具彈性，而我們最有利的家庭趨勢是由核心主流客戶所推動的。

Our go-to-market strategy positioned us well to meet our customers' needs, growing households and enhancing loyalty.

我們的行銷策略使我們能夠很好地滿足客戶的需求、擴大家庭規模並提高忠誠度。

We helped customers save in multiple ways through fresh affordable products and promotions, including loyalty discounts, personalized offers and fuel rewards, and also through Our Brands products, which are priced well below national brands at equal or greater quality.

我們透過新鮮實惠的產品和促銷活動，包括忠誠度折扣、個人化優惠和燃油獎勵，以及透過我們的品牌產品（價格遠低於國家品牌，但品質相同或更高），以多種方式幫助客戶節省開支。

Our focus on operational excellence through our full fresh and friendly strategy brought our strategic pillars to light, meaning our customers can have value, selection and convenience.

我們透過全新、友善的策略專注於卓越營運，彰顯了我們的策略支柱，這意味著我們的客戶可以獲得價值、選擇和便利。

We will continue to improve our customer experience to drive traffic and increase volumes because it powers our value creation model and is critical to our long-term success.

我們將繼續改善客戶體驗以推動流量和增加數量，因為它推動了我們的價值創造模式，對我們的長期成功至關重要。

Fresh is one of the primary determinants of where customers shop, and we continue to invest to offer days of freshness.

新鮮度是決定顧客購物的主要因素之一，我們持續投入以提供每日新鮮的商品。

In 2024, we reduced dwell time or distribution centers, which meant most customers had extra days of freshness in their homes on key fresh items.

2024 年，我們減少了停留時間或配送中心，這意味著大多數客戶可以在家中多享受幾天主要新鮮商品的保鮮期。

As a result, we saw strong year-over-year identical produce sales improvement above our total company identical sales without fuel results.

結果，我們看到同產品銷售額較去年同期大幅成長，高於不含燃料績效的公司整體同產品銷售。

Going forward, we see more opportunities to enhance our sourcing capability and supply chain to deliver additional days of freshness.

展望未來，我們看到更多機會來增強我們的採購能力和供應鏈，以提供更多的新鮮度。

On to Our Brands.

了解我們的品牌。

Our Brands is an important differentiator for our business, providing Kroger the ability to offer unique and high-quality products at an exceptional value.

我們的品牌是我們業務的重要差異化因素，使 Kroger 能夠以卓越的價值提供獨特、高品質的產品。

We expanded our multi-tier Our Brand product portfolio in 2024, resulting in more than 90% of customer households purchasing Our Brands items last year.

我們在 2024 年擴大了多層次的 Our Brand 產品組合，去年有超過 90% 的客戶家庭購買了 Our Brands 的產品。

Over time, we built distinct brands that our customer favorites.

隨著時間的推移，我們打造了顧客喜愛的獨特品牌。

We're always listening to our customers to understand how we can create more offerings to better meet their needs.

我們始終傾聽客戶的意見，以了解如何創造更多產品來更好地滿足他們的需求。

Our proprietary customer insights drive our innovation had led to more than 900 new Our Brands products released last year alone, including 370 Fresh items.

我們專有的客戶洞察推動了我們的創新，光是去年就發布了 900 多種新的 Our Brands 產品，其中包括 370 種新鮮產品。

We look to create destination items that can only be found at Kroger, differentiating ourselves from competitors and national brands.

我們希望創造出只能在 Kroger 找到的目的地商品，以使自己有別於競爭對手和國家品牌。

Last year, we introduced Field & Vine, a new brand offering regionally grown berries.

去年，我們推出了Field＆Vine，一個提供當地種植漿果的新品牌。

We also began refreshing existing product lines and rolling out new packaging, which reinforces product quality and improve shopability.

我們也開始更新現有的產品線並推出新的包裝，以增強產品品質並提高購物體驗。

Turning to Seamless.

轉向無縫。

Digital sales were strong in 2024 with more than $13 billion in sales.

2024 年數位銷售強勁，銷售額將超過 130 億美元。

As our digital business grows, so does its impact on our financial results.

隨著我們的數位業務的成長，其對我們財務業績的影響也不斷增加。

As a result, we're making improved profitability a key priority through automation, new technology and improved density and volumes.

因此，我們透過自動化、新技術以及提高密度和產量將提高獲利能力作為首要任務。

We are encouraged by our fourth quarter results, which delivered the best digital profit improvement quarter we've seen yet.

我們第四季的業績令我們感到鼓舞，這是我們迄今為止看到的最好的數位利潤成長季度。

Seamless is an important growth accelerator in our business.

Seamless 是我們業務的重要成長加速器。

Capturing more digital households is important to accelerating growth in our model because these households are more loyal and spend nearly 3 times as much as nondigitally engaged households.

在我們的模型中，吸引更多的數位家庭對於加速成長至關重要，因為這些家庭更加忠誠，並且花費幾乎是非數位化家庭的三倍。

The additional households in traffic in turn create more growth opportunities in our alternative profit in health and models businesses.

交通家庭數量的增加反過來會為我們的健康和模型業務的替代利潤創造更多的成長機會。

Kroger's alternative profit businesses are high growth and margin rich.

克羅格的另類利潤業務成長迅速、利潤豐厚。

Alternative profit businesses delivered solid results in 2024, generating $1.35 billion in operating profit, driven by a 17% increase in media, excluding the 53rd week in 2023.

另類利潤業務在 2024 年取得了穩健的業績，創造了 13.5 億美元的營業利潤，這得益於媒體收入 17% 的成長（不包括 2023 年的第 53 週）。

While our pool of alternative profit businesses fell short of our initial growth expectations in 2024, in part due to slower growth in advertiser spend, we expect both near- and long-term growth to exceed our 2024 results. 2025 is off to a strong start with increases in upfront commitments from both CPGs and agencies.

雖然我們的替代利潤業務池在 2024 年未能達到我們最初的成長預期，部分原因是廣告商支出成長放緩，但我們預計近期和長期成長都將超過我們 2024 年的業績。 2025 年開局強勁，CPG 和代理商的前期承諾均有所增加。

KPM's mission is to be the most trusted and transparent media company by offering advertisers more effective ad spending through a compelling combination of custom audiences and ad effectiveness measurement.

KPM 的使命是透過客製化受眾和廣告效果衡量的完美結合為廣告主提供更有效的廣告支出，成為最值得信賴和最透明的媒體公司。

KPM continues to make strategic decisions to sign to further this mission, such as their holistic brand building approach with clients.

KPM 繼續做出策略決策來簽署協議以進一步完成這項使命，例如他們與客戶採取的整體品牌建立方法。

We expect a long runway for growth, which will be supported by continued innovation and growth in our digital sales.

我們預計未來將有一段較長的成長期，這將得益於我們數位銷售的持續創新和成長。

Health and wellness delivered solid sales results, gaining momentum in the second half of the year, as strong vaccine performance in the second half helped offset margin pressures from growth in GLP-1 sales.

健康和保健業務取得了穩健的銷售業績，並在下半年獲得了發展勢頭，因為下半年強勁的疫苗表現幫助抵消了 GLP-1 銷售成長帶來的利潤率壓力。

Last month, we announced a new agreement with Express Scripts, which will provide ESI customers access to prescription medications and health services at Kroger pharmacies.

上個月，我們宣布與 Express Scripts 達成一項新協議，將為 ESI 客戶提供在 Kroger 藥局購買處方藥和健康服務的機會。

While exiting this relationship in 2022 was a difficult decision, we are pleased to renew this relationship under a fair and more equitable contract, which enables us to operate on a sustainable basis and keep prices low for customers.

雖然在 2022 年退出這一關係是一個艱難的決定，但我們很高興根據公平、更公正的合約續約這一關係，這使我們能夠可持續地運作並為客戶保持低價。

As our teams begin to welcome these patients back into our stores, we know it will take time to build the ESI business back up.

當我們的團隊開始歡迎這些患者重返我們的商店時，我們知道重建 ESI 業務需要時間。

As a result, our 2025 guidance does not assume any benefit for recently signed agreement with ESI.

因此，我們的 2025 年指引並不假設最近與 ESI 簽署的協議有任何好處。

Improving productivity is a core competency for Kroger and essential to our value creation model.

提高生產力是 Kroger 的核心競爭力，也是我們的價值創造模式的關鍵。

We are focused on productivity initiatives, which preserve and enhance both the customer and associate experience.

我們專注於生產力舉措，以維持和提高客戶和員工的體驗。

For example, we introduced a virtual AI-powered assistant associate last year.

例如，我們去年推出了虛擬人工智慧助理。

Today, almost 70,000 associates engage with this tool for more than 70 use cases.

如今，已有近 7 萬名員工使用該工具，用例超過 70 種。

It provides personalized service to associates for common HR and associated interactions, including training and onboarding.

它為員工提供常見人力資源和相關互動的個人化服務，包括培訓和入職培訓。

It also provides leaders real-time and convenient access to labor data, ensuring fully staffed stores.

它還為領導者提供即時、便捷的勞動力數據訪問，確保商店人員充足。

Our efforts to improve strength provide another example where productivity improvements directly connect to our strategy and improve customer experience.

我們為提高實力所做的努力提供了另一個例子，生產力的提高直接與我們的策略相關並改善了客戶體驗。

Last year, we launched a new generative AI-powered sell-through tool that uses real-time sales and shipment data that empowers associates to better manage Fresh and (inaudible) store inventory.

去年，我們推出了一款新的生成式人工智慧銷售工具，該工具使用即時銷售和發貨數據，幫助員工更好地管理生鮮和（聽不清楚）商店庫存。

As a result, our products are fresher, we prioritize sell-through, and that optimizes both sales and margins.

因此，我們的產品更新鮮，我們優先考慮銷售，從而優化銷售額和利潤。

I'll now walk through our financial results, beginning with the fourth quarter.

我現在將從第四季開始介紹我們的財務表現。

We achieved identical sales without fuel growth at 2.4%.

我們在沒有燃料的情況下實現了 2.4% 的相同銷售額成長。

These results reflect positive momentum in our grocery business, along with strong pharmacy and digital sales growth.

這些結果反映了我們雜貨業務的積極勢頭，以及藥局和數位銷售的強勁成長。

Our Brands had another strong quarter, with sales outpacing national brands, led by growth in our most premium brand, Private Selection.

我們的品牌又度過了一個強勁的季度，銷售額超過了國家品牌，其中最優質的品牌 Private Selection 的成長最為顯著。

Encouragingly, our positive sales trends were broad-based across many of our food categories during the quarter.

令人鼓舞的是，本季我們許多食品類別的銷售趨勢普遍呈現正面趨勢。

The FIFO gross margin rate, excluding rent, depreciation and amortization, fuel and the 53rd week of 2023 increased 54 basis points in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year.

第四季度，不包括租金、折舊和攤提、燃料和2023年第53週的FIFO毛利率與去年同期相比增加了54個基點。

The improvement in rate was primarily attributable to the sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy and lower shrink, partially offset by lower pharmacy margins.

費率的增加主要歸因於 Kroger Specialty Pharmacy 的出售和損耗的降低，但被藥局利潤率的下降部分抵消。

The operating general and administrative rate, excluding fuel adjustment items in the 53rd week, increased 16 basis points in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year.

第四季度，不包括第53週燃料調整項目的營業一般及管理費用比去年同期增加了16個基點。

The increase in rate was primarily attributable to sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy, increased incentive plan costs and investment in associate wages, partially offset by the continued execution of cost savings initiatives.

費率上漲主要歸因於克羅格專業藥房的出售、激勵計劃成本的增加以及員工工資的投資，但持續執行的成本節約計劃部分抵消了這一影響。

After adjusting for the effect from the sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy, our OG&A rate improved this quarter, demonstrating our ability to leverage expenses when achieving our long-term sales algorithm.

在調整了 Kroger Specialty Pharmacy 出售的影響後，本季我們的 OG&A 率有所改善，證明了我們在實現長期銷售演算法時利用費用的能力。

Our adjusted FIFO operating profit was $1.2 billion.

我們的調整後FIFO營業利潤為12億美元。

We had a LIFO charge for the quarter of $30 million compared to a credit of $18 million for the same period last year.

本季我們的後進先出費用為 3,000 萬美元，而去年同期的貸方為 1,800 萬美元。

Adjusted EPS was $1.14, which is flat compared to the same period last year, excluding the 53rd week.

調整後每股收益為 1.14 美元，與去年同期（不包括第 53 週）持平。

I'll now walk through our full year 2024 results.

我現在將介紹我們 2024 年全年業績。

Kroger achieved identical sales without fuel growth of 1.5%.

克羅格在沒有燃料的情況下實現了 1.5% 的相同銷售額成長。

Digital sales grew 10% compared to last year, excluding the 53rd week, and Delivery Solutions led sales growth with an 18% increase.

除第 53 週外，數位銷售額與去年相比成長了 10%，其中配送解決方案以 18% 的增幅引領銷售成長。

Demand across our Kroger delivery network continue to be strong with an increase in both households and traffic.

隨著家庭數量和客流量的增加，我們 Kroger 配送網路的需求持續強勁。

Customers enjoy the premium experience of our delivery service reflected by consistently strong Net Promoter Scores.

顧客享受我們送貨服務的優質體驗，這從持續強勁的淨推薦值中可見一斑。

Health and Wellness was also a strong driver of sales this year, led by growth in GLP-1s.

健康和保健也是今年銷售的強勁推動力，其中 GLP-1 的成長最為顯著。

The FIFO gross margin rate excluding rent, depreciation and amortization, fuel and the 53rd week of 2023 increased 32 basis points.

不包括租金、折舊和攤提、燃料和2023年第53週的FIFO毛利率增加了32個基點。

The improvement in rate was primarily attributable to the sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy, Our Brand's performance and lower shrink, partially offset by lower pharmacy margins.

費率的增加主要歸因於 Kroger Specialty Pharmacy 的出售、Our Brand 的業績和較低的損耗，但被較低的藥房利潤率部分抵消。

The improvement in FIFO gross margin rate reflects progress on our long-term margin enhancement strategies.

FIFO毛利率的提高反映了我們長期利潤率提升策略的進展。

Going forward, we continue to see more opportunity for improvement through Our Brands, growth in alternative profits, utilizing technology through our supply chain, enhancing our product mix with Fresh and improving digital profitability.

展望未來，我們將繼續看到透過我們的品牌、替代利潤的成長、透過我們的供應鏈利用技術、透過新鮮食品增強我們的產品組合以及提高數位獲利能力等更多的改進機會。

The OG&A rate, excluding fuel, adjustment items in the 53rd week of 2023, increased 31 basis points.

2023 年第 53 週的 OG&A 費率（不包括燃料）調整項目增加了 31 個基點。

The increase in rate was driven by the sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy, increased incentive plan costs, an increase in costs due to the severity of general liability claims and investment in associate wages, partially offset by the continued execution of cost savings initiatives.

費率上漲的主要原因是克羅格專業藥房的出售、激勵計劃成本的增加、一般責任索賠的嚴重性導致的成本增加以及員工工資的投資，但持續執行成本節約計劃在一定程度上抵消了這一影響。

Our adjusted FIFO operating profit was $4.7 billion.

我們的調整後FIFO營業利潤為47億美元。

Our LIFO charge for the full year was $95 million compared to LIFO charge of $113 million last year.

我們全年的後進先出法費用為 9,500 萬美元，而去年的後進先出法費用為 1.13 億美元。

Adjusted EPS was $4.47 per diluted share.

調整後每股收益為 4.47 美元。

Excluding the 53rd week in 2023, EPS declined 2%.

不包括 2023 年的第 53 週，每股盈餘下降 2%。

Fuel is an important part of Kroger's strategy and offers an important way to build loyalty with customers through the fuel rewards on our Kroger Plus program.

燃料是 Kroger 策略的重要組成部分，透過我們的 Kroger Plus 計畫中的燃料獎勵，提供了建立客戶忠誠度的重要方式。

Fuel sales were lower this quarter compared to last year, attributable to fewer gallons sold and lower average retail price per gallon.

本季燃料銷量與去年同期相比有所下降，原因是銷售量減少且每加侖平均零售價下降。

Fuel profitability was also behind the same period last year as a result of fewer gallons sold,and lower cents per gallon margin.

由於銷售量減少，每加侖利潤率降低，燃料獲利能力也落後於去年同期。

On both the fourth quarter and full year basis, fuel was a headwind to our results.

無論從第四季還是全年來看，燃料都是我們業績的阻力。

I want to provide a brief update on our inflation expectations.

我想簡單介紹一下我們的通膨預期。

Inflation in 2024 increased throughout the year and was in line with our expectation.

2024 年通膨率全年上升，符合我們的預期。

And as we look ahead to 2025, we expect inflation to be 1.5% to 2.5%, which does not include the effects from tariffs announced earlier this week.

展望 2025 年，我們預計通膨率將達到 1.5% 至 2.5%，這還不包括本週稍早宣布的關稅的影響。

External factors continue to pressure certain fresh commodities, including eggs.

外部因素繼續對包括雞蛋在內的某些新鮮商品造成壓力。

Notably, the Avian flu resulted in egg inflation of approximately 70% during the quarter.

值得注意的是，禽流感導致本季雞蛋價格上漲約70%。

Inflationary pressures are not new to our business, and we're confident in our ability to navigate any inflationary environment.

通膨壓力對我們的業務來說並不是什麼新鮮事，我們有信心應對任何通膨環境。

We will remain focused on keeping prices low for our customers.

我們將繼續致力於為客戶保持低價。

I'd like to take a moment to talk about our associates.

我想花點時間談談我們的同事。

We respect and reward our associates because their success enables the success of the company.

我們尊重並獎勵我們的員工，因為他們的成功使得公司的成功得以實現。

Ensuring they are successful means improving wages and benefits, focusing on associate well-being and developing talent to create fulfilling careers.

確保他們成功意味著提高薪資和福利，專注於員工福祉並培養人才以創造令人滿意的職業生涯。

This approach improved retention as our store and enterprise retention rates reached record levels this year.

由於今年我們的商店和企業保留率達到了創紀錄的水平，這種方法提高了保留率。

Creating a better associate experience has benefits for our business.

創造更好的員工體驗對我們的業務有益。

When associates stay longer, they're better operators and deliver a better customer experience.

當員工停留的時間更長時，他們會成為更好的操作員並提供更好的客戶體驗。

In 2024, we raised the bar on our customer experience metrics and our associates exceed those higher expectations to deliver an exceptional customer experience that drove sales growth.

2024 年，我們提高了客戶體驗指標的標準，我們的員工超越了這些更高的期望，提供了卓越的客戶體驗，推動了銷售成長。

These associate investments include associate wage increases in 2024, resulting in an average hourly rate of more than $19 an hour and a rate of more than $25 with comprehensive benefits factored in.

這些員工投資包括2024年員工薪資上漲，平均時薪將超過19美元，綜合福利後將超過25美元。

Over the last seven years, Kroger has increased wages by 38%.

過去七年來，克羅格將薪資提高了 38%。

Kroger remains committed to supporting our associates with investments in wages and comprehensive benefits that are sustainable and will allow us to keep prices low for our customers.

克羅格將繼續致力於透過可持續的薪資和綜合福利投資來支持我們的員工，並使我們能夠為客戶保持低價。

Similar investments in associates are incorporated in our 2025 guidance and long-term growth model.

對聯營公司的類似投資也納入了我們的 2025 年指引和長期成長模型。

During the fourth quarter, we ratified several new labor agreements, including our Fred Meyer, Alaska stores with the UFCW.

在第四季度，我們批准了幾項新的勞工協議，包括我們位於阿拉斯加的 Fred Meyer 商店與 UFCW 簽署的協議。

I'd like to turn to capital allocation of financial strategy.

我想談談金融策略的資本配置。

Our strong balance sheet and free cash flow provide significant financial flexibility to invest in our business and drive returns for our shareholders.

我們強勁的資產負債表和自由現金流為我們的業務投資提供了巨大的財務靈活性並為我們的股東帶來回報。

At the end of the fourth quarter, Kroger's net total debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was 1.79 compared to our net total debt to adjusted EBITDA target ratio range of 2.3 to 2.5.

截至第四季末，Kroger 的淨總負債與調整後 EBITDA 比率為 1.79，而我們的淨總負債與調整後 EBITDA 目標比率範圍為 2.3 至 2.5。

Our capital allocation priorities remain consistent and are designed to accelerate our value creation model to deliver on total shareholder return at 8% to 11% over time.

我們的資本配置重點保持一致，旨在加速我們的價值創造模式，以便隨著時間的推移實現 8% 至 11% 的股東總回報率。

We are focused on investing in projects that will maximize return on invested capital over time, while remaining committed to maintaining our current investment-grade rating, growing our dividend over time, subject to Board approval, and returning excess capital to shareholders.

我們專注於投資那些能夠隨著時間的推移實現投資資本回報率最大化的項目，同時繼續致力於維持我們目前的投資級評級、在董事會批准的情況下隨著時間的推移增加我們的股息、以及向股東返還多餘的資本。

In 2024, we announced our plans to significantly increase our investment in major storing projects, including new stores to accelerate sales growth and improve share, while supporting our long-term growth model.

2024年，我們宣布計劃大幅增加對主要倉儲項目的投資，包括開設新店，以加速銷售成長並提高份額，同時支持我們的長期成長模式。

We delivered on that commitment in 2024, completing 29 major storing products focused in higher-growth geographies that have track record for generating strong cash flows and returns.

我們在 2024 年兌現了這項承諾，完成了 29 款主要儲存產品，這些產品專注於高成長地區，這些地區在產生強勁現金流和回報方面有著良好的記錄。

We expect to complete 30 major storing projects in 2025.

我們預計到2025年將完成30個重大倉儲工程。

We also expect new storing to continue to be a meaningful contributor to our long-term growth model and would expect new store openings to accelerate beyond 2025.

我們也預計新店將繼續為我們長期成長模式做出有意義的貢獻，並預計 2025 年後新店開幕將會加速。

In December, we delivered on our commitment to return excess capital to our shareholders we announced a new $7.5 billion repurchase authorization.

12 月份，我們履行了向股東返還多餘資本的承諾，宣布了新的 75 億美元回購授權。

Under this authorization, Kroger entered into an accelerated share repurchase program for $5 billion of common stock.

根據此授權，克羅格簽署了一項價值 50 億美元普通股的加速回購計畫。

During the fourth quarter, Kroger initially purchased 65.6 million shares as part of the ASR.

第四季度，Kroger 最初購買了 6,560 萬股股票作為 ASR 的一部分。

The ASR program is expected to be completed by no later than the third quarter of Kroger's fiscal 2025.

ASR 計畫預計將不遲於 Kroger 2025 財年第三季完成。

After completion of the ASR, we expect to resume open market share repurchases under the remaining $2.5 billion authorization that will further enhance shareholder value.

完成 ASR 後，我們預計將根據剩餘的 25 億美元授權恢復公開市場股票回購，這將進一步提高股東價值。

Last year, Kroger issued $10.5 billion in new debt financing, of which $4.7 billion was redeemed when the merger terminated, leaving Kroger with $5.8 billion of new debt.

去年，克羅格發行了105億美元的新債務融資，其中47億美元在合併終止時被贖回，導致克羅格背負58億美元的新債務。

Given this higher debt load, we expect interest expense to increase in 2025.

鑑於債務負擔增加，我們預計 2025 年的利息支出將會增加。

Assuming current interest rates, we expect full year net interest expense to be between $650 million and $675 million.

假設當前利率，我們預計全年淨利息支出將在 6.5 億美元至 6.75 億美元之間。

The net impact of our financing and the share reduction from ASR created $0.01 of accretion to adjusted net earnings per diluted share in the fourth quarter.

我們的融資淨影響和 ASR 的股份減少使第四季度調整後每股稀釋淨收益增加了 0.01 美元。

Turning now to 2025 guidance.

現在轉向2025年指導。

We expect to achieve identical sales without fuel of 2% to 3%, adjusted FIFO operating profit of between $4.7 billion and $4.9 billion and adjusted net earnings per diluted share of $4.60 to $4.80. We like the LIFO charge to be approximately $130 million, assuming inflation is in line with current expectations.

我們預計，不含燃料的銷售額將維持 2% 至 3% 的水平，調整後的 FIFO 營業利潤將達到 47 億美元至 49 億美元之間，調整後的每股攤薄淨收益將達到 4.60 美元至 4.80 美元。假設通貨膨脹與目前預期一致，我們希望後進先出法費用約為 1.3 億美元。

In terms of quarterly cadence, we expect identical sales without fuel to be consistent throughout the year, building slightly as the year progresses as we continue to improve our volumes.

就季度節奏而言，我們預計不含燃料的銷售額將全年保持一致，隨著我們銷量的不斷提高，銷售額將隨著時間的推移而略有增加。

We expect first quarter adjusted net earnings per diluted share to be similar to last year, and we expect quarter two through quarter four to be consistently above each quarter compared to the same periods of last year.

我們預計第一季調整後每股攤薄淨收益將與去年同期持平，且預計第二季至第四季的調整後每股攤薄淨收益將持續高於去年同期。

In terms of margin rates, we expect FIFO gross margin and OG&A rates, excluding fuel and adjustment items, to be relatively flat on a year-over-year basis after excluding the effects of our sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy business.

在利潤率方面，我們預計，在排除出售 Kroger Specialty Pharmacy 業務的影響後，FIFO 毛利率和 OG&A 率（不包括燃料和調整項目）將與去年同期相比相對持平。

In closing, we're happy to deliver another year of solid results which reflect the strength of our model.

最後，我們很高興看到另一年的穩健業績，這反映了我們模式的實力。

Investments made to diversify our model has strengthened Kroger, positioned us well to deliver now and invest in the future.

為了實現模式多樣化而進行的投資增強了 Kroger 的實力，使我們能夠在當前實現目標並投資於未來。

We're a more diverse business, and we are excited about the opportunities across our business to deliver future growth.

我們的企業更加多元化，我們對未來業務成長的機會感到興奮。

The strength of our model and the momentum in our business support our confidence in achieving our 2025 guidance and our ability to continue delivering for our customers, investing in our associates and generating attractive and sustainable returns for our shareholders.

我們模式的優勢和業務的發展勢頭增強了我們對實現 2025 年目標的信心，也增強了我們繼續為客戶提供服務、投資於我們的員工以及為我們的股東創造有吸引力且可持續的回報的能力。

I will now turn it back to Ron.

現在我將話題轉回給羅恩。

Thanks, Todd.

謝謝，托德。

As you heard from us today, Kroger operates from a position of strength, and I'm very optimistic about our future.

正如您今天所聽到的，克羅格公司實力雄厚，我對我們的未來非常樂觀。

We delivered solid results in 2024, and our performance improved throughout the year.

我們在 2024 年取得了穩健的業績，並且全年業績都有所提升。

Looking to 2025, we have aggressive plans to build more stores and improve our share results, attract new households and increase loyalty, which will accelerate growth and create shareholder value.

展望 2025 年，我們制定了積極的計劃，以建立更多的門市、提高我們的業績、吸引新的家庭並提高忠誠度，這將加速成長並創造股東價值。

We continue to have a strong balance sheet, which positions us well for the future, allowing us to invest in our business growth while remaining disciplined on returning cash to shareholders.

我們的資產負債表仍然強勁，這為我們的未來做好了準備，使我們能夠投資於業務成長，同時嚴格遵守向股東返還現金的紀律。

Given our ongoing search for a CEO, Kroger has postponed its planned Investor Day in April of 2025.

鑑於我們仍在尋找首席執行官，Kroger 已將原定於 2025 年 4 月舉行的投資者日推遲。

We will update investors at a later date when it has been rescheduled.

當會議重新安排後，我們將向投資者通報最新情況。

In the interim, Kroger remains committed as always to being accessible and updating you on our strategic priorities.

在此期間，Kroger 仍將一如既往地致力於為您提供便捷的服務並向您通報我們的策略重點。

Before we open up for any questions, I want to take a moment to welcome David Kennerley.

在我們開始回答任何問題之前，我想花點時間歡迎 David Kennerley。

He will be joining us next week, and he will succeed Todd as Chief Financial Officer on April 3.

他將於下週加入我們，並將於 4 月 3 日接替托德擔任財務長。

David is joining us from PepsiCo Europe and brings broad and extensive financial experience.

David 來自百事可樂歐洲公司，為我們帶來了豐富的財務經驗。

We are confident that David's expertise and leadership will help us to continue to deliver on our strategic and financial priorities.

我們相信，大衛的專業知識和領導力將幫助我們繼續實現我們的策略和財務重點。

We'll now open it up for questions.

我們現在開始回答問題。

And as you might imagine, Todd will handle questions related to strategy and results.

您可能想像，Todd 將處理與策略和結果相關的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Simeon Gutman, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的西緬古特曼 (Simeon Gutman)。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Good morning, everyone.

大家早安。

So my question, at the highest level, if you look at the '25 guidance, it looks like EBIT is expected to grow in the low single digits, 2% to 3%.

所以我的問題是，從最高層面來看，如果你看一下 25 年的指引，你會發現 EBIT 預計將以低個位數成長，即 2% 至 3%。

Within that, can you share how much is coming from the core business versus alternate?

其中，您能否分享一下來自核心業務和替代業務的資金佔比是多少？

And then one follow-up.

然後進行一次後續行動。

I don't know if we're able to ask Ron questions, but good to hear from you, Ron.

我不知道我們是否可以向羅恩提問，但很高興收到你的來信，羅恩。

I wanted to ask, as you and the Board approaches the succession of CEO, you're obviously sitting on a treasure trove of great operators within the organization.

我想問一下，當您和董事會正在討論執行長的繼任問題時，您顯然在組織內擁有一群優秀的人才。

How are you looking at an outside perspective?

您如何看待外界觀點？

Because the traditional supermarket channel, not just Kroger has had mixed market share results over time. and it's obviously becoming more complex, and the stakes are growing.

因為傳統超市通路（而不僅僅是 Kroger）的市場份額隨著時間的推移一直存在著好壞參半的結果。顯然，情況變得越來越複雜，風險也越來越大。

So thinking about at an outside talent versus the treasure trove of folks that you're sitting on internally.

因此，考慮一下外部人才與內部人才的財富。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yeah.

是的。

Thanks, Simeon.

謝謝，西緬。

Appreciate the question.

我很感謝你提出這個問題。

Let me talk about the guide first, and then I'll turn it over to Ron for your CEO succession question.

讓我先談談該指南，然後我將把它交給羅恩來回答您的 CEO 繼任問題。

Yeah, the -- we have operating profit growth -- if you look at the middle of the range, it's -- you're right, it's probably in the 3% range.

是的，我們的營業利潤有所增長，如果你看一下中間值，你是對的，它可能在 3% 的範圍內。

And we see growth both on the core business and from our alternative profit business.

我們看到核心業務和替代利潤業務均實現了成長。

Again, we talked in the comments where we didn't quite hit our expectations for alternative profit, but we do expect that to continue to contribute back in advance of what we saw in 2024 next year.

再次，我們在評論中談到，我們沒有完全達到替代利潤的預期，但我們確實預計這將在明年 2024 年之前繼續帶來回報。

But Ron alluded to it, I alluded to it on the call, we do have momentum in our core business and do expect solid growth in our operating profit to come from the core part of the business.

但是羅恩提到了這一點，我在電話會議上也提到了這一點，我們的核心業務確實發展勢頭良好，並且確實預計我們的營業利潤的穩健增長將來自核心業務部分。

It's across the store, both center store.

它位於商店對面，均位於商店中心。

Pharmacy, we expect a little bit of growth in alternative profit to contribute to that as well.

藥局，我們預計替代利潤的少量成長也將為此做出貢獻。

So Ron, I'll turn it over to you.

那麼羅恩，我將把它交給你。

Hey, Simeon, great to work with you again.

嘿，西緬，很高興再次與你合作。

I'll tackle the succession planning question.

我將解決繼任計畫問題。

Just to give you a little bit of background, the Board updates our specs for CEO every year.

只需向您提供一點背景信息，董事會每年都會更新我們對首席執行官的規範。

It's just part of our annual succession planning process.

這只是我們年度繼任計劃流程的一部分。

And the reason we do that is because our business changes every year and the environment we operate in changes every year as well.

我們這樣做的原因是我們的業務每年都在變化，我們營運的環境每年都在變化。

So we are in the process of updating that again.

因此，我們正再次進行更新。

And in terms of the process, the Board has formed a search committee.

就流程而言，董事會已經成立了一個搜尋委員會。

We have begun the search process.

我們已經開始了搜尋過程。

We have hired a nationally recognized firm.

我們聘請了一家全國知名的公司。

We are going to be looking at both internal candidates as well as external candidates.

我們將同時考慮內部候選人和外部候選人。

But I think most importantly, we're focused on identifying the right leader to drive Kroger's growth and enhance shareholder value.

但我認為最重要的是，我們專注於尋找合適的領導者來推動克羅格的成長並提高股東價值。

I am proud to serve in this role for as long as needed.

我很榮幸能夠擔任這個職務並堅持到需要為止。

But I am absolutely confident that our Board will select the right next CEO, whether I'm inside the company or outside.

但我絕對有信心，無論我是在公司內部還是在公司外部，我們的董事會都會選出合適的下一任執行長。

Thanks, everyone.

謝謝大家。

Good luck.

祝你好運。

Leah Jordan, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的利亞喬丹 (Leah Jordan)。

Good morning.

早安.

Thank you for taking my question.

感謝您回答我的問題。

I just wanted to dig into digital a little bit.

我只是想稍微深入研究一下數位科技。

It sounds like it continues to be a strong channel for you, and profitability improved notably this quarter.

聽起來這對您來說仍然是一個強大的管道，而且本季的盈利能力顯著提高。

Just looking a bit longer term over the next couple of years, seeing if you could provide more detail on the path of improvement from here?

只是展望未來幾年的較長時期，看看您是否可以提供更多關於現在改進路徑的細節？

And I guess how much more can lower costs in the retail media growth that seems to be accelerating here can offset other ongoing investments you're making, like price investments in the channel?

我想，零售媒體成長似乎正在加速，而降低成本又能在多大程度上抵消您正在進行的其他持續投資，例如通路價格投資？

Yeah.

是的。

Thanks, Leah.

謝謝，利亞。

I'll start with the digital piece.

我先從數字部分開始。

Again, and you're right, we were really pleased to see the sequential improvement in our profitability in the digital channel in the fourth quarter.

再說一次，您說得對，我們非常高興看到第四季度數位管道的獲利能力連續提高。

And it was really in both of the key elements.

它確實包含這兩個關鍵要素。

We saw it in pickup.

我們在皮卡上看到了它。

We continue to make progress in improving our cost to serve within our stores.

我們在改善門市服務成本方面不斷取得進展。

And we also saw it in the delivery channel.

我們在配送通路中也看到了這一點。

We've talked a lot over time about some of the things that we're doing inside our sheds and in the last mile relative to our sheds in conjunction with Ocado and working with them to improve that.

我們已經多次討論過我們在棚內以及與 Ocado 合作在棚內最後一英里所做的一些事情，並與他們合作進行改進。

And so again, we saw it in both spots.

我們再次在兩個地方看到了它。

We're not where we want to be, we've alluded to that.

我們還沒有達到我們想要的水平，我們已經暗示過這一點。

We're not where we need to be.

我們還沒有達到我們需要達到的水平。

But I think the green shoots that we had seen prior to the quarter and the progress we made on those during the quarter, I think puts us on a trajectory that if we maintain that consistently and string a few quarters together, I think that will help get us where we want to be over the long term.

但我認為，我們在本季度之前看到的復甦跡像以及我們在本季度取得的進展，將使我們走上一條軌道，如果我們持續保持這種軌道，並將幾個季度串聯起來，我認為這將有助於我們實現長期目標。

So again, we're encouraged, and I think we're on the right path to string a few of those quarters together to be where we want to be long term.

因此，我們再次受到鼓舞，我認為我們正走在正確的道路上，將這幾個季度串聯起來，以實現我們想要的長期目標。

Your other question, if I caught it correctly, was around how we generate value in the business to continue to be able to invest.

如果我理解正確的話，您的另一個問題是關於我們如何在業務中創造價值以繼續進行投資。

So we've talked a lot about the levers that we have.

我們已經討論了很多我們所擁有的槓桿。

And the way we go about our strategy, we have many levers, probably more levers today than we've ever had to try to drive that value in the business.

我們在實施策略的過程中運用了許多槓桿，也許今天我們運用的槓桿比以往任何時候都多，以試圖推動業務價值。

We talk about margin enhancement initiatives like alternative profit, and again, the consistent meaningful growth that it provides.

我們討論諸如替代利潤之類的利潤提高舉措，以及它所提供的持續有意義的成長。

Our Brands is a margin enhancer.

我們的品牌可以提高利潤。

And particularly in this environment around -- all customer cohorts are looking for value.

特別是在這種環境下——所有客戶群都在尋求價值。

We've talked about how successful that has been for us over the last several quarters.

我們已經討論過過去幾個季度這給我們帶來了多大的成功。

And we continue to find opportunities in productivity in all elements of our business.

我們將繼續在業務的各個環節中尋找提高生產力的機會。

There's productivity in store.

生產力正在不斷提升。

But we're such a vast business with so many opportunities, whether it's in our supply chain business, in the DCs or transportation, we continue to unlock opportunities to create that value, and that's essential to our model to be able to invest in price and to continue to invest in associates.

但我們的業務規模如此龐大，擁有如此多的機會，無論是在我們的供應鏈業務、配送中心還是運輸領域，我們都在不斷釋放機會來創造價值，這對於我們的模式至關重要，使我們能夠在價格上進行投資，並繼續在員工身上進行投資。

And so every year, and '25 is no different than years in the past, our level of investment in both prices and associates is pretty consistent with what we've seen year-to-year, but that commitment remains because it's essential to be able to deliver key prices to our customers and invest in our associates.

因此，每年，25年與過去幾年沒有什麼不同，我們在價格和員工方面的投資水平與我們逐年看到的水平相當一致，但這一承諾依然存在，因為能夠向我們的客戶提供關鍵價格並投資於我們的員工至關重要。

Our associates are the ones that deliver that amazing shopping experience and connect with those customers in all realms.

我們的員工致力於為顧客提供令人驚嘆的購物體驗並與顧客在各個領域建立聯繫。

And so we still see a very meaningful runway from all of the opportunities that we have and the levers to create value.

因此，從我們擁有的所有機會和創造價值的槓桿來看，我們仍然看到了一條非常有意義的跑道。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

Michael Lasser, UBS.

瑞銀的麥可‧拉瑟 (Michael Lasser)。

Good morning.

早安.

Thank you so much taking my question.

非常感謝您回答我的問題。

My question is that if we look at your ID sales guidance for this year, you're basically assuming that volumes are flat to probably even down given that your inflation expectation, along with what will likely be outperformance from your health and wellness business, due in part to GLP-1s.

我的問題是，如果我們看一下您今年的 ID 銷售指引，您基本上假設銷量將持平甚至可能下降，因為通膨預期，以及您的健康和保健業務可能表現優異（部分歸因於 GLP-1）。

So, A, why is that?

那麼，A，為什麼呢？

And B, Ron, is there anything that you can do now that you're in the CEO seat to address maybe some of the shortcomings of the business that you observed as a Board member?

B，羅恩，現在您坐在執行長的位置上，可以做些什麼來解決您作為董事會成員觀察到的一些業務缺陷？

And just a quick logistical question, Todd.

這只是一個簡單的後勤問題，托德。

What is driving EPS to be flat year-over-year in the first quarter?

是什麼原因導致第一季每股收益與去年同期持平？

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Great.

偉大的。

Yeah, Michael, let me touch on those.

是的，邁克爾，讓我來談談這些。

I think I can hit on each of the pieces that you have.

我想我可以擊中你的每一件東西。

The ID guide, I think you have -- fundamentally have the pieces right when you look at inflation expectations for next year and relative to volumes.

我認為，當您查看明年的通膨預期以及相對於交易量的情況時，ID 指南從根本上來說是正確的。

When you look at the whole year and think about it flat to maybe slightly up, I think that's the right way to think about it.

當你放眼全年，認為它會持平或略有上漲時，我認為這是正確的思考方式。

Obviously, coming into the year, we're still pretty negative, but we're driving off what's been continued sequential improvement quarter-to-quarter, and that trajectory is why we expect that during the year, we'll flip that over to positive.

顯然，進入今年以來，我們仍然持相當消極的態度，但我們正在推動季度環比持續改善，這種軌跡就是為什麼我們預計在今年內，我們的業績將轉為正增長。

So I think the combination of those two, when you think about the business without pharmacy, gets us to nice growth in the core business.

因此，我認為，當你考慮沒有藥房的業務時，這兩者之間的結合將使我們的核心業務實現良好的成長。

And then when you do a pharmacy on that, I think that's what puts us right in the middle of the of the range.

然後，當您在那裡開藥房時，我認為這就使我們處於範圍的中間位置。

So I think you're thinking about those pieces consistently.

所以我認為你正在不斷思考這些部分。

And then I'll talk too about quickly the flat in Q1 to that part of your question.

然後，我將快速談論 Q1 中您問題的部分。

Really, what we saw in Q1, it was a couple of things.

事實上，我們在第一季看到了幾件事。

One, we had some OG&A items when you look at a year-over-year comp that is really driving that.

首先，當你查看同比數據時，我們有一些 OG&A 項目，這些項目確實推動了這一趨勢。

They were a few there.

他們那裡有幾個人。

But the biggest I think the call out is around the union pension relief that we had a year ago, where we had almost like a pension holiday last year.

但我認為，最大的呼聲是圍繞我們一年前享受的工會退休金減免，而去年我們幾乎享受了退休金假期。

Well, now we're back to more normal cadence of union pension expenses, and so we're kind of back on a normal case.

嗯，現在工會退休金支出已經恢復到更正常的節奏，所以我們又回到了正常的情況。

And I think that's a piece of it.

我認為這不過是其中的一部分。

Again, there were a few other puts and takes around that.

再次，圍繞這一問題還存在一些其他的爭論。

But I think that's -- when you look at that and if you go -- if you did apples and apples on that, I think the growth that we have in the first quarter would be similar and approximately what we're seeing for the rest of the quarters.

但我認為，如果你看一下這一點，如果你進行對比，我認為我們在第一季的成長將是相似的，並且大致與我們在接下來的幾季所看到的成長相同。

And Michael, great to talk to you again, great to work with you also.

邁克爾，很高興再次與您交談，也很高興與您合作。

At this point in the year, our 2025 plans are really nailed down.

到今年這個時候，我們的 2025 年計畫已經真正確定。

They've been approved by the Board.

它們已獲得董事會的批准。

We spend a lot of time in January as a Board kind of going through the strategy.

一月份我們董事會花了很多時間研究這個策略。

And I can assure you at this point that Kroger's go-to-market strategy remains unchanged.

我可以向你們保證，克羅格的行銷策略保持不變。

We will remain focused on creating long-term shareholder value.

我們將繼續專注於創造長期股東價值。

And on a more personal basis, as CEO, I'm going to be focused on making sure our experience and our really talented management teams, and I've really seen that, are able to continue to execute with clarity, with speed and with consistency on those existing strategic objectives.

從個人角度來看，作為首席執行官，我將專注於確保我們的經驗和真正有才華的管理團隊能夠繼續清晰、快速、一致地執行現有的戰略目標，而我確實看到這一點。

But Michael, you've known me for a long time, I certainly don't plan to be a status quo CEO.

但是邁克爾，你認識我很久了，我當然不打算成為一個維持現狀的執行長。

But on the other hand, our plans are really solid for 2025, and I'm looking forward to being a part of that.

但另一方面，我們對 2025 年的計畫非常堅定，我期待成為其中的一員。

Thank you, very much and good luck.

非常感謝，祝你好運。

John Heinbockel, Guggenheim.

古根漢的約翰·海因博克爾。

Todd, a couple of things on digital.

托德，關於數字，有幾件事我想說一下。

When you think about growth going forward, particularly in '25, do you think it ends up being very similar to '24 in total and in delivery?

當您考慮未來的成長，特別是 25 年的成長時，您是否認為其總體和交付量最終會與 24 年非常相似？

And then when you think about improving the losses, what are the biggest bucket or two, right?

然後，當您考慮改善損失時，最大的一個或兩個損失是什麼，對嗎？

Is throughput through the sheds, how do you look at that versus delivery density, right?

是透過棚屋的吞吐量，您如何看待它與運輸密度的關係，對嗎？

I think those are two of the biggest buckets.

我認為這是兩個最大的桶子。

And then lastly, when do you guys think about, you'll be at a place where you want to reaccelerate shed openings from a profit standpoint, but you can now go ahead and do that?

最後，你們什麼時候會想到從利潤的角度重新加速開設棚屋，但現在你們可以繼續這樣做嗎？

Yeah.

是的。

Great questions, John.

很好的問題，約翰。

I appreciate that.

我很感激。

Yeah, when you look at '25, we do expect to see continued improvement.

是的，當你展望25年時，我們確實希望看到持續的改善。

And again, particularly given with the results we saw in the fourth quarter.

再次強調，特別是考慮到我們在第四季看到的結果。

That's a nice momentum going into the year.

這是進入新的一年的良好勢頭。

And when you really talk about whether it's throughput in the sheds or delivery density, I think it's a little bit of everything.

當您真正談論倉庫的吞吐量或運輸密度時，我認為這與一切都有關。

We've talked a lot about there are a lot of pieces of that puzzle that we're working to get better.

我們已經討論了很多，我們正在努力解決這個難題。

And every single piece of that is contributing.

其中每一個部分都做出了貢獻。

And again, it's what we saw in the fourth quarter.

這正是我們在第四季看到的情況。

There wasn't one magical thing.

並沒有什麼神奇的事。

It wasn't just cost to serve.

這不僅是服務成本的問題。

It wasn't just the last mile.

這不僅僅是最後一英里。

Every single piece of the puzzle continues to incrementally improve, and that's what we see and deliver.

拼圖中的每一個碎片都在不斷逐步完善，這就是我們所看到和傳遞的。

So over time, it's that trajectory.

隨著時間的推移，它就是那條軌跡。

I think we have several quarters to string together that look like the one that we had.

我認為我們有幾個季度可以串聯起來，看起來像我們曾經擁有的季度。

We've talked about sheds, until we get profitability to where we need it and where we expect it to be, one.

我們已經討論了棚屋，直到我們獲得我們需要的和我們期望的盈利能力。

And two, what comes along with that is making sure that when we open the next shed, we're able to do it at a volume level that kind of enables us to hit the ground running.

其次，我們要確保，當我們開設下一個棚屋時，我們能夠以適當的規模進行經營，以便能夠立即開始工作。

And I don't think that was always the case when we opened sheds in the past.

我認為，過去我們開設棚屋時情況並不總是這樣的。

And so the combination of starting in a volume it matters and at a scalable level of profitability based on what we've been able to execute on our existing sheds, I think that will be the point in time when we get there.

因此，從重要的產量開始，並根據我們在現有工棚上所能執行的操作，實現可擴展的盈利水平，我認為這將是我們到達目標的時間點。

Again, I don't think it's not imminent, John, but I think it's something that we have momentum towards and that we continue to work towards.

再說一次，約翰，我認為這不是迫在眉睫的，但我認為這是我們有動力去實現的事情，也是我們會繼續努力實現的事情。

Those will be the key factors that we look at in determining when we open that next shed.

這些將是我們決定何時開設下一個棚屋的關鍵因素。

Michael Montani, Evercore ISI.

邁克爾·蒙塔尼（Michael Montani），Evercore ISI。

Yes.

是的。

Hi, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Just wanted to see if you could unpack a little bit more the ID sales in terms of traffic versus ticket?

只是想看看您是否可以從交通量和票務的角度進一步解釋一下 ID 銷售的情況？

What kind of inflation did you have in the quarter?

本季你們經歷了什麼樣的通貨膨脹？

And then also on GLP-1, how much of an impact was that on ID sales?

那麼對於 GLP-1 來說，它對 ID 銷售有多大影響？

Great.

偉大的。

Thanks, Michael.

謝謝，麥可。

And I presume -- it sounds like you're referencing back to Q4.

我推測——這聽起來像是你在回顧 Q4。

I think when we look at Q4 I think we had contribution from both, ticket and traffic, during the quarter.

我認為，當我們回顧第四季時，我們會發現本季我們既有來自票務貢獻，也有來自流量的貢獻。

And it might have skewed a little bit towards the ticket side of it because we did have a little bit of a tick up on the inflation side, but I do think both contributed to that.

而且它可能有點偏向票務方面，因為通貨膨脹方面確實有點上升，但我確實認為兩者都是造成這種情況的原因。

And GLP-1, I think we haven't quantified what that looks like relative to GLP-1, but I think there's been some talk about what the industry impacts have been on that.

至於 GLP-1，我認為我們還沒有量化它與 GLP-1 的關係，但我認為已經有一些關於產業對此影響的討論。

And I think our experience have been very similar to what others have talked about.

我認為我們的經歷與其他人談論的非常相似。

Should we be thinking inflation at food at-home levels of close to 2%, absent any more detail?

在沒有更多細節的情況下，我們是否應該考慮家庭食品通膨水準接近 2%？

Yahs.

是的。

I think we talked about in the script, Michael, about 1.5% to 2.5% inflation next year.

邁克爾，我想我們在腳本中討論過明年的通貨膨脹率約為 1.5% 到 2.5%。

And if you peel that down maybe one layer, there are certainly some key commodities or categories where you're seeing some outsized inflation.

如果你深入分析一下，你會發現有些關鍵商品或類別的通膨率確實過高。

I think eggs are getting a lot of the headlines, but there's a couple of other fresh categories, maybe beef and some of the other protein categories where you're seeing that.

我認為雞蛋佔據了很多頭條新聞，但還有其他幾個新鮮類別，例如牛肉和一些其他蛋白質類別，你也會看到這種情況。

But really, you take those kind of extreme or outlier inflation commodities, and I think the vast majority of our overall portfolio is pretty steady on inflation.

但實際上，如果你採取那些極端或異常通膨的商品，我認為我們整體投資組合中的絕大部分在通膨方面都是相當穩定的。

We would expect that, that kind of core of the portfolio to see a little bit of a tick up in inflation for next year.

我們預計，明年此類投資組合的核心部分將會出現小幅通膨上升。

This year played out the way we kind of thought and ended the year a little north of 1%, which is what we thought.

今年的情況和我們想像的一樣，年底的成長率略高於 1%，這也是我們所想的。

And I think that moving up from there in 2025 is pretty much our expectation, to get to that 1.5% to 2.5%, and then it will just be those outsized categories, I think that maybe push us more towards the middle of that range.

我認為，到 2025 年，這一數字將逐漸上升，達到 1.5% 到 2.5% 之間，而後，這些超大類別將逐漸成為我們向該範圍中間靠攏的趨勢。

Rupesh Parikh, Oppenheimer.

魯佩什·帕里克，奧本海默。

Good morning and thank you for taking our question.

早安，感謝您回答我們的問題。

Just on the tariff front, I know your guidance, or at least for inflation does include the impacts of the tariffs.

僅在關稅方面，我知道您的指導，或者至少對於通貨膨脹來說確實包括關稅的影響。

But since it's starting to happen now, I just wanted to get a sense of exposure there.

但既然現在它開始發生了，我只是想在那裡獲得一種曝光的感覺。

I'm guessing produce, you have some exposure to that, but just any color there?

我猜你對農產品有一定的了解，但那裡有什麼顏色嗎？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yeah.

是的。

No, great question.

不，這個問題問得好。

Certainly, a hot topic of late, Rupesh.

當然，這是最近的一個熱門話題，魯佩什 (Rupesh)。

I appreciate you asking.

感謝您的詢問。

And you're right.

你說得對。

As a domestic retailer, I think we have less exposure to some of the international tariffs that some of our peers will see.

作為國內零售商，我認為我們受到的一些國際關稅的影響較小，而我們的一些同行則會面臨這些影響。

You think of China, we're a really, really small single-digit exposure, I think, from some of the things that we buy from China.

想想中國，我認為，我們從中國購買的一些東西對中國的影響真的只有很小的個位數。

One category that has a little bit of exposure in the tariff space is our Fresh business, particularly if you think about produce.

在關稅領域有一點影響力的類別之一是我們的生鮮業務，特別是農產品業務。

But even in that space, when you think about some of the produce we might get from Mexico or Canada, those are still pretty kind of mid-single-digit effect.

但即使在那種情況下，當你想到我們可能從墨西哥或加拿大獲得一些農產品時，這些仍然是一種中等個位數的影響。

So it's not a massive impact.

所以影響不是很大。

One thing we're doing though, especially in that Fresh space, in that produce space, we're really -- we're closely monitoring that.

不過，我們正在做一件事，特別是在新鮮食品領域，在農產品領域，我們確實在密切監控。

And where we can, with our merchandising and our sourcing teams are trying to be proactive and looking in those commodities where we have the ability to diversify our supplier base.

我們的商品銷售和採購團隊會盡力積極主動地尋找能夠實現供應商基礎多樣化的商品。

Maybe the suppliers that are in other geographies that won't be affected by tariffs or be less affected by tariffs to do what we can in some of those commodities to keep it down.

也許其他地區的供應商不會受到關稅的影響，或是受關稅影響較小，我們會盡力降低某些商品的關稅。

Because being able to do that gives us the opportunity to keep prices low in our stores.

因為這樣做可以讓我們有機會保持商店的低價。

So the teams are being proactive.

因此，各團隊都積極主動。

Even though it's not a huge impact overall in our business, maybe certainly relative to our peers, it's a great opportunity for us to be proactive and stay out in front of it.

儘管這對我們整個業務的影響並不大，但與我們的同行相比肯定沒有太大影響，但這對我們來說是一個很好的機會，讓我們能夠積極主動並保持領先地位。

Ed Kelley, Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的艾德凱利 (Ed Kelley)。

Yeah.

是的。

Hi.

你好。

Good morning, everyone.

大家早安。

Ron, it's good to hear from you.

羅恩，很高興收到你的來信。

A couple of questions for you.

我想問您幾個問題。

First is related to share repo on the balance sheet.

首先與資產負債表上的股票回購有關。

As we heard from you guys for a while now that there really is no good business reason to run below your leverage target ratio.

正如我們從你們那裡聽到的，一段時間以來，確實沒有任何好的商業理由使槓桿率低於目標值。

Ron, I'm curious, do you still agree with that?

榮恩，我很好奇，你還同意這一點嗎？

And then as we think about guidance this year, Todd, what specifically is in guidance this year for share repo, if you could just clarify that, please?

然後，當我們考慮今年的指導時，托德，您能澄清一下今年股票回購的指導具體是什麼嗎？

And then the last -- the second question for you is just around perhaps in the exposure you have to SNAP, and what you've seen historically, if there's been cuts there?

然後最後一個——您要問的第二個問題可能與您對 SNAP 的了解以及您從歷史上看到的情況有關，SNAP 是否有過削減？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks.

謝謝。

I appreciate the question.

我很感謝你提出這個問題。

But given my short tenure with the company, I'm going to defer to my good friend, Todd.

但考慮到我在公司任職的時間不長，我將聽從我的好朋友托德的意見。

Yeah.

是的。

No, you got -- thanks, Ron.

不，你得到了--謝謝，羅恩。

Relative to the guide on the share repo, we obviously have the finalization of the accelerated share repurchase in the plan, which we expect to wrap up in the third quarter.

相對於股份回購的指引，我們顯然已經在計劃中最終確定了加速股份回購，預計將在第三季完成。

We do have that incremental $2.5 billion authorization on top of that, which we do continue to pick up and execute through open market purchases at the back part of the year.

在此基礎上，我們確實獲得了 25 億美元的增量授權，我們將在今年下半年繼續透過公開市場購買來獲取和執行這筆資金。

So depending on our volumes and presuming that our volumes are consistent with what the repurchase is under the ASR are going to be, we expect to use the majority of that, that 2.5%, at the back part of the year.

因此，根據我們的交易量，並假設我們的交易量與 ASR 下的回購量一致，我們預計將在今年下半年使用其中的大部分，即 2.5%。

So that's the case.

事實就是這樣的。

Relative to our leverage ratio, obviously, with the borrowings that we took on for the ASR, we've bumped that up to around 1.8 and gives us a little bit of flexibility there versus the top end of our range there at the 2.3 to 2.5. Keep in mind, we do have that $2.5 billion of share repurchase later in the year, that some of that will be dedicated towards using some of the cash that we have on our balance sheet.

相對於我們的槓桿率，顯然，透過為 ASR 承擔的借款，我們將其提高到 1.8 左右，與我們範圍的最高端 2.3 到 2.5 相比，這為我們提供了一點靈活性。請記住，我們在今年稍後確實有 25 億美元的股票回購，其中一部分將用於使用我們資產負債表上的部分現金。

And we also have a debt refinancing that will finance with that.

我們還有債務再融資，將利用這些資金進行融資。

So we do have some business uses for some of that cash.

所以我們確實可以將部分現金用於一些商業用途。

Relative to your last comment on SNAP, you're right.

相對於您對 SNAP 的最後一則評論，您是對的。

It hasn't been that long since I think we had some SNAP pullbacks a few years ago.

我認為，距離我們幾年前經歷的一些 SNAP 回調還沒有過去那麼久。

And typically, when we see the impacts from SNAP in our business and especially coming out of the gate, we'll see the customers prioritize spending on essentials like food initially coming out of the gate, and you'll see more of the reduction in spend and more discretionary categories.

通常，當我們看到 SNAP 對我們業務的影響時，尤其是在剛開始時，我們會看到客戶優先考慮在食品等必需品上的支出，並且您會看到更多的支出減少和更多的可自由支配類別。

So as we keep an eye on what's going on and monitoring what's happening in that space, we'll keep that in mind.

因此，當我們密切關注正在發生的事情並監視該領域發生的一切時，我們會牢記這一點。

But as we experienced two or three years ago, when we had the SNAP challenges, we just -- we have the ability to flex and pull the levers in our model to make sure we absorb that.

但正如我們兩三年前經歷的那樣，當我們面臨 SNAP 挑戰時，我們只是——我們有能力靈活運用和拉動模型中的槓桿，以確保我們能夠吸收這些挑戰。

But at this stage, there's, I think, a variety of proposals out there on exactly what an impact to SNAP would be, if any.

但我認為，在現階段，對於這將對 SNAP 產生何種影響（如果有的話），已經有各種各樣的提案。

And so I think it's premature to project what's going to happen there.

因此我認為現在預測那裡會發生什麼還為時過早。

But I think we have our eyes on it, and we'll lean on our recent experiences on what that might mean for our business when the time comes.

但我認為我們已經關注它了，我們將根據最近的經驗來判斷時機成熟時這對我們的業務意味著什麼。

Ken Goldman, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的肯‧戈德曼。

Hi, thank you.

你好，謝謝。

I appreciate the guidance on inflation and the details there.

我很欣賞通貨膨脹的指導及其細節。

I wanted to broaden it out a little bit.

我想將它稍微擴大一點。

As we look just at food-at-home and retail and wholesale pricing trends, CPI and PPI, it certainly seems to some observers that the industry, the food retail industry, is holding back on maybe passing through some of the wholesale inflation.

當我們只看家庭食品和零售及批發價格趨勢、消費者物價指數 (CPI) 和生產者物價指數 (PPI) 時，一些觀察家確實認為，食品零售行業可能正在抑制部分批發通膨。

I realize that PPI is not a pure measure of wholesale prices.

我意識到 PPI 並不是衡量批發價格的純粹指標。

But I was just wondering what you guys are seeing out there in terms of the competitive environment, your peers price investments versus your expectations and how that kind of informs your decisions to pass along inflation this year?

但我只是想知道，就競爭環境而言，你們看到了什麼，你們的同行投資價格與你們的預期如何，以及這對你們今年傳導通膨的決策有何影響？

Yeah.

是的。

Good question, Ken.

好問題，肯。

A couple of thoughts.

一些想法。

Relative to most of our suppliers, we're not seeing a ton of price increases come through yet.

相對於我們的大多數供應商，我們尚未看到價格大幅上漲。

I think maybe we have seen some select price increases, particularly, again, as I alluded to earlier, in some of the Fresh categories that you would expect, like eggs and, again, a couple of the proteins we have seen it.

我想也許我們已經看到一些精選產品的價格上漲，特別是，正如我之前提到的，在一些你會預料到的新鮮類別中，例如雞蛋，以及我們已經看到的幾種蛋白質。

But by and large, across the broad portfolio, we're not seeing or hearing a lot of chatter about those price increases at this stage.

但總體而言，在廣泛的投資組合中，現階段我們並沒有看到或聽到太多關於價格上漲的討論。

So -- and that's reflected in some of the thoughts that we gave relative to our inflation guidance and whatnot for later in the year.

所以——這反映在我們對今年稍後的通膨指導和其他事項給出的一些想法中。

As far as, again, relative price investments and whatnot, it's a great question.

至於相對價格投資等等，這是一個很好的問題。

I mean the way the customers are thinking about value, we talked about that earlier, competitive pricing is as important as it's ever been.

我的意思是，我們之前討論過，客戶對價值的看法是，有競爭力的定價一如既往地重要。

And you've heard us say before, we always assume the next quarter and the next year is going to be more competitive than the last because that's typically the way that it plays out.

您之前也聽我們說過，我們總是假設下一季和明年的競爭將比上一季更加激烈，因為通常情況就是這樣的。

But we do continue to monitor where our pricing is at relative to our competitors and where those gaps are at because we're always striving to keep our prices low.

但我們確實會繼續監控我們的定價相對於競爭對手的水平以及差距，因為我們始終努力保持低價。

We had nice progress in the fourth quarter.

我們在第四季度取得了良好的進展。

We did improve our gaps with our competitors in the fourth quarter and we continue to monitor that and our strategy is to continue to drive those investments in price to narrow those gaps.

我們確實在第四季度縮小了與競爭對手的差距，我們將繼續監控這一點，我們的策略是繼續推動價格投資以縮小差距。

So I think we've had nice momentum in that space over the past couple of quarters.

所以我認為過去幾季我們在該領域發展勢頭良好。

Karen Short, Melius Research.

凱倫·肖特（Karen Short），Melius Research。

Hi.

你好。

Thanks for taking my question and good to speak to you.

感謝您回答我的問題，很高興與您交談。

So just on that last comment, I wanted to clarify where you think your price gaps are now versus where they were, say, 10 years ago?

所以，針對最後一則評論，我想澄清一下，您認為現在的價格差距與 10 年前相比如何？

Because in the Kroger heydays, you were within 5% to 8% of your largest big box competitor on like-for-like items.

因為在克羅格的鼎盛時期，你在同類商品上的競爭力只比你最大的大型競爭對手低 5% 到 8%。

And then my second question is just when you look at your operating profit, and obviously, we can see the contribution from alternative streams, how do you think about the four-wall operating profit?

我的第二個問題是，當您查看您的營業利潤時，顯然我們可以看到來自替代業務流的貢獻，您如何看待整體營業利潤？

And I know it's getting increasingly hard to separate the two.

我知道要區分這兩者是越來越困難了。

But four-wall operating profit versus the alternative because four-wall obviously needs to grow as does the alternatives.

但是四壁酒店的營業利潤與替代方案相比，因為四壁酒店顯然需要成長，替代方案也需要成長。

Yeah.

是的。

Thanks, Karen.

謝謝，凱倫。

Great questions.

很好的問題。

On the first, relative to price gaps, we measure it at two or three different levels.

首先，相對於價格差距，我們從兩個或三個不同的層面來衡量。

There's obviously like the prices that are observable by looking at shelf tags.

顯然，透過查看貨架標籤就可了解價格。

And let me even take a step back from that.

讓我退一步來說。

My comments around being able to narrow those price gaps that I just made applies to each of the scenarios that I'll describe.

我剛才關於縮小價格差距的評論適用於我將描述的每一種場景。

But we look at it at that level, at the shelf tag level, for what the customer will see looking at the shelf.

但是，我們會從貨架標籤層面來觀察顧客在貨架上看到的東西。

But the other one that we look at, because of our promotional offerings, our loyalty offerings, our fuel rewards, we'll look at kind of that all-in price that our customers get total value from Kroger.

但是，我們考慮的另一個因素是，由於我們的促銷優惠、忠誠度優惠和燃料獎勵，我們會考慮客戶從 Kroger 獲得的總價值的全包價格。

And what we see when you look at that all-in level, it's favorable to the 5% to 8% range that you used earlier.

當您查看全押水平時，我們看到它有利於您之前使用的 5％ 到 8％ 的範圍。

So we continue to look at that and look at it on an all-in level and measure how we're able to continue to reduce that gap.

因此，我們將繼續關注這個問題，並從整體層面來審視它，並衡量我們如何能夠繼續縮小差距。

One of the things that we're paying attention to there is that's based on our measurements and what we see.

我們所關注的事情之一是基於我們的測量和所見。

But we continue to work and make sure that our customers -- and what our customers perceive our values are and our price spreads are more closely matches to what that actual value is.

但我們會繼續努力，確保我們的客戶——以及我們的客戶所認為的價值以及我們的價差與實際價值更加接近。

And I think we've got some feedback.

我想我們已經收到了一些回饋。

I think we have some opportunity there from our customers.

我認為我們的客戶為我們提供了某些機會。

So really trying to focus on being a little bit more simpler in the promotions that we put out there.

因此，我們確實試圖將重點放在使我們所推出的促銷活動變得更簡單一些。

So it's very clear to them and they give us the credit for the value that we deliver to them to make sure that they understand that.

所以他們非常清楚這一點，並且他們讚揚我們為他們提供的價值，以確保他們理解這一點。

So that's an important part of what we're doing today.

這是我們今天工作的重要部分。

And then relative to operating profit, a great question on four-wall and -- versus operating profit, and a very astute observation that they do -- they are very intertwined, especially the way they operate our model.

然後相對於營業利潤，四面牆和相對於營業利潤的一個很好的問題，以及他們所做的非常敏銳的觀察是 - 它們非常相互交織，特別是他們運作我們模型的方式。

But I think that we see growth in both of those.

但我認為，我們看到這兩者都有所增長。

And I think it's a pretty even balance when you think about -- when we look at our operating profit growth, both are contributing, I think, in a reasonably similar range to our overall operating profit growth, particularly as we look at 2025.

而且我認為，如果你考慮一下我們的營業利潤成長，你會發現這是一個相當均衡的平衡，我認為，兩者對我們的整體營業利潤成長的貢獻都在相當相似的範圍內，特別是當我們展望 2025 年時。

Chuck Cerankosky, Northcoast Research.

查克·塞蘭科斯基（Chuck Cerankosky），Northcoast Research。

Good morning, everyone.

大家早安。

Can you talk a little bit about accelerating your new store openings.

能否談談加速新店開幕的相關事宜？

The conventional retail food industry has lost market share over the last few years, but Kroger is definitely something more aggressive than the rest of the industry.

傳統零售食品行業在過去幾年中已經失去了市場份額，但克羅格無疑比業內其他公司更具侵略性。

And can you talk about the strategic thoughts behind that, please?

您能談談這背後的戰略思想嗎？

Yeah.

是的。

No, good color, Chuck.

不，顏色不錯，查克。

One of the reasons is we think about -- there's a couple of pieces of that.

其中一個原因是我們思考過──其中有幾個部分。

One, three or four years ago, as we were ramping up our digital capabilities, some of our incremental capital went into building out those capabilities to get them where we are today.

一、三或四年前，當我們提升數位化能力時，我們的部分增量資本用於建構這些能力，以達到今天的水平。

And we're pretty happy with how that's played out.

我們對結果非常滿意。

So we're not done with that.

所以我們還沒完成。

We're in continual enhancement mode and maintenance mode to make sure we're delivering where the customers are at.

我們處於持續增強模式和維護模式，以確保我們能夠滿足客戶的需求。

But now that we've got to that mode, we're able to take that incremental capital and put it back into our storing.

但是現在我們已經進入了這種模式，我們能夠利用這些增量資本並將其重新放回我們的儲存中。

Because I think that's an area where when you look at some of our share and our opportunity for growth, I think building out that footprint is an important piece of what we're trying to do.

因為我認為，當你看到我們的部分份額和成長機會時，擴大這一足跡是我們正在嘗試做的事情的重要組成部分。

So we talked about where we're at this year, where we expect to be next year and accelerating off of that.

因此，我們討論了今年我們所處的位置、明年的預期以及在此基礎上的加速發展。

The two of those comments go hand in hand.

這兩則評論是相輔相成的。

Because more and more, our most loyal customers and our most profitable customers are the ones that engage with us in both modalities, those that engage with us digitally and those that -- and they also engage with us in store.

因為越來越多的人，我們最忠誠的客戶和最賺錢的客戶都是透過兩種方式與我們互動的客戶，也就是那些以數位方式與我們互動的客戶，以及那些也在商店與我們互動的客戶。

And so having the right balance between the two of those, I think, gives us an opportunity to build loyalty with our customers.

因此，我認為，在兩者之間取得適當的平衡，可以讓我們有機會建立客戶忠誠度。

But I also think having those additional -- that additional physical footprint is a great lever for us to drive our share.

但我還認為，擁有這些額外的東西——額外的實體足跡是我們推動份額的一大槓桿。

So the two go hand-in-hand, digital and physical footprint.

因此，數位足跡和實體足跡兩者相輔相成。

But because we took a couple of years off there from some of that growth, I think it's an opportunity to get back in and build that out.

但因為我們在那裡休息了幾年，所以我認為這是重新開始並實現成長的機會。

Krisztina Katai, Deutsche Bank.

德意志銀行的 Krisztina Katai。

Hi, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Thanks, and congrats on a good quarter.

謝謝，並祝賀本季業績良好。

So I had a question regarding [Own Brand] You launched more than 900 new items in 2024.

所以我有一個關於 [自有品牌] 的問題，您在 2024 年推出了 900 多種新產品。

Can you talk about your plans for the [Own Brand] business in 2025?

您能談談 2025 年 [自有品牌] 業務的計劃嗎？

How much newness should we anticipate for the year?

今年我們該期待多少新鮮事？

What does that distribution look like across maybe opening price points versus your more premium items?

與您的更高階產品相比，起始價位的分佈如何？

And then just lastly, do you anticipate that they will continue to contribute to gross margin in 2025?

最後，您是否預計它們將在 2025 年繼續為毛利率做出貢獻？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yeah, great question.

是的，很好的問題。

We've talked a lot about Our Brands this year.

今年我們討論了很多關於我們的品牌的問題。

Again, it's been a staple in what we go to market with because it hits so many sweet spots.

再次，它已經成為我們推向市場的主打產品，因為它滿足了許多最佳點。

It delivers great quality at a value to our customers.

它為我們的客戶提供物美價廉的產品。

And especially in this environment, that's huge.

尤其是在這種環境下，這意義重大。

It's a margin enhancement mechanism for us because of the spread with national brands on all of those and it gives us a point of differentiation, and distinction with the innovation to give our customers something they can't get anywhere else.

由於國家品牌在所有這些領域的傳播，這對我們來說是一種利潤增強機制，它為我們提供了差異點和創新特色，為我們的客戶提供他們在其他任何地方都無法獲得的東西。

So it's kind of the ultimate triple play relative to Our Brands.

因此，對於我們的品牌來說，這可以說是終極的三重奏。

And so because of that, we talk about the 900 items this year.

因此，我們今年討論的是 900 個項目。

I don't recall what 2023 was, but I believe it was a similar number.

我不記得 2023 是什麼數字，但我相信這是一個相似的數字。

This year was not an unusual year for innovation and new items in Our Brands.

今年對我們的品牌創新和推出新品來說並不是不尋常的一年。

So I would expect to see us continue to innovate in that space.

因此我希望看到我們在該領域繼續創新。

And again, when you talk about how much of that newness comes from opening price point or private selection or those kind of things, our team does and continues to do deep dives in each category, because each category is a little bit different.

再說一次，當你談到有多少新鮮感來自開盤價或私人選擇或諸如此類的事情時，我們的團隊會並且將繼續對每個類別進行深入研究，因為每個類別都有點不同。

But to make sure we understand where we stack up against national brands and where there's substitutability or replaceability relative to national brands where Our Brands might be able to be featured.

但要確保我們了解我們與國家品牌相比的優勢，以及我們的品牌相對於國家品牌的可替代性或可替換性。

So it's hard to answer that specifically other than to say we've been doing these deep dives in on a category-by-category basis, really trying to understand where we need an opening price point or where we can introduce innovation in private selection.

因此，很難具體回答這個問題，只能說我們一直在逐個類別地進行深入研究，真正試圖了解我們需要一個起拍價點在哪裡，或者我們可以在私人選擇方面引入創新的地方在哪裡。

And we're probably maybe a third or 40% of the way through those category deep dives.

我們可能已經完成了這些類別深度研究的三分之一或四成。

I expect those to extend through 2025 and beyond to be able to drive that growth.

我預計這些將延續到 2025 年甚至更久，從而能夠推動這一成長。

But I think it will be an important pillar of what we do for you to come.

但我認為這將是我們為您今後所做工作的重要支柱。

And I even think we see opportunity in the right categories to really push to expand our penetration in those categories over time.

我什至認為，我們在正確的類別中看到了機會，可以真正推動我們在這些類別中的滲透率隨著時間的推移而擴大。

So it's a story you'll continue to hear us talk about.

所以這是一個你們將會繼續聽我們談論的故事。

Joe Feldman, Telsey Advisory Group.

喬‧費爾德曼 (Joe Feldman)，Telsey 顧問集團。

Yeah.

是的。

Thanks, guys.

謝謝大家。

Thanks for taking the questions.

感謝您回答這些問題。

I wanted to ask about -- is there anything -- you mentioned the pension issue being in the first quarter.

我想問一下——有什麼——您提到第一季的退休金問題。

Can you share a little more color on that for the rest of the year?

您能否分享更多關於今年剩餘時間的情況？

And are there any other like big pensions this year that you do have to negotiate?

今年還有其他類似的大額退休金需要您協商嗎？

I feel like every year, there's always one or two that come up?

我覺得每年總是會出現一到兩個這樣的狀況？

And I just wanted a little more color on that.

我只是想對此多加一點色彩。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yeah.

是的。

Sure, Joe. Yeah, I wouldn't even call it a pension issue.

當然，喬。是的，我什至不認為這是一個退休金問題。

Actually, it was an opportunity from last year, where, based on contributions that we have made up to that point in time, we didn't have the need to make required contributions for an early part of last year.

實際上，這是去年的一個機會，基於我們迄今為止所做的貢獻，我們不需要在去年年初做出所需的貢獻。

So last year, we didn't have contributions.

所以去年我們沒有捐款。

And now we're kind of back on our normal cadence.

現在我們已經恢復正常節奏了。

And so that just created that Q1 comp that was a little bit different than what we expect to see for the remaining quarters of the year.

因此，第一季的業績與我們對今年剩餘季度的預期略有不同。

So it was just -- it was actually an opportunity from last year as opposed to a concern or an issue.

所以這只是——這實際上只是去年的一個機遇，而不是一個擔憂或問題。

Kelly Bania, BMO.

凱利·巴尼亞（Kelly Bania），BMO。

Hi.

你好。

Thanks for taking my question.

感謝您回答我的問題。

I had a couple.

我有幾個。

I wanted to ask just about your core kind of underlying gross margin.

我想問的是你們的核心基礎毛利率。

It's a pretty solid expansion really for the last few years.

過去幾年來，這確實是一個相當穩健的擴張。

I think this quarter and this year even came in ahead of plan, but it sounded like this year is planned flat.

我認為本季和今年甚至超過了計劃，但聽起來今年與計劃持平。

So just curious if you could talk about what maybe different about this year versus the last couple of years?

我很好奇，您能否談談今年與過去幾年相比有何不同？

And I guess if you can incorporate kind of your plans for your alt profit growth, sorry if I missed that, but what you're planning on that for this year?

我想，如果您能將您的計劃融入您的替代利潤增長計劃中，抱歉，如果我錯過了，但是您今年的計劃是什麼？

Yeah.

是的。

Good question.

好問題。

I think when you look net of Specialty Pharma for this quarter, I think it was about 13 basis points ahead.

我認為，當您查看本季專業製藥的淨值時，我認為它領先約 13 個基點。

So it was a little bit ahead in the quarter, and I think that was -- that, too, was reflective of the year.

因此，本季的表現略有領先，我認為這也反映了今年的情況。

I think what we saw this year -- which was good, we've been doing a lot of work in the shrink space this year.

我認為我們今年看到的是好的，我們今年在收縮領域做了很多工作。

And because we've talked for years the pressure with organized crime and some of the other issues that we've had from a macro space and the strength space.

因為我們多年來一直在談論有組織犯罪的壓力以及我們從宏觀空間和實力空間遇到的一些其他問題。

So this year was a year where a lot of our efforts in that space have really paid off, not only in strategies around organized retail crime, but you heard us talk in the prepared script about the way we're using technology to drive sell-through and help us reduce shrink.

因此，今年我們在該領域的許多努力確實獲得了回報，不僅在針對有組織零售犯罪的策略方面，而且您還可以聽到我們在準備好的腳本中談論我們如何利用技術來推動銷售並幫助我們減少損耗。

And so I really think -- the answer to your question on why was this year such a benefit to budget?

所以我真的認為——你這個問題的答案是為什麼今年的預算如此有利？

I think shrink was one of those.

我認為心理醫生就是其中之一。

We've talked a lot about Our Brands and whatnot.

我們已經談論了很多關於我們的品牌和其他話題。

I still think we have a little bit of run rate in the shrink space, but I think we'll probably start to cycle that as we get into the middle of the year and whatnot.

我仍然認為我們在收縮空間中有一點點運行率，但我認為我們可能會在進入年中時開始循環這種循環。

And we continue to invest in price and whatnot.

我們將繼續在價格等方面進行投資。

And we use those margin expansion opportunities to continue to invest in price there.

我們利用這些利潤擴大機會繼續投資那裡的價格。

And then the second part of the question, did -- I might have missed.

然後問題的第二部分，我可能錯過了。

I didn't catch the second part of the question.

我沒聽清楚問題的第二部分。

Oh, sorry, annual profit growth.

哦，抱歉，年度利潤增長。

We don't specifically guide to all profit, but we do expect 2025 to see dollar better than what we had come through in 2024.

我們並沒有具體預測所有利潤，但我們確實預計 2025 年的利潤將比 2024 年更好。

Thank you.

謝謝。

At this time, we'll take no further questions.

目前，我們不再接受任何提問。

I'll hand back to Ron for any further remarks.

我將把發言權交還給羅恩，以便他可以做出進一步的評論。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you, Alex.

謝謝你，亞歷克斯。

Thanks for all your questions this morning.

感謝您今天上午提出的所有問題。

They're really much appreciated and it's also great for me personally to reconnect with some of old friends this morning.

他們確實非常感激，對我個人而言，今天早上與一些老朋友重新聯繫也是一件很棒的事情。

As you know, before we conclude our earnings call, we'd like to take the time to share just a few comments with our associates who are listening in.

如您所知，在我們結束收益電話會議之前，我們想花點時間與正在聆聽的同事分享一些評論。

I'd first like to end the message of encouragement to all of our associates.

首先，我想結束對我們所有同事的鼓勵之言。

As CEO, I will keep our company focused on retail fundamentals, running great stores and online delivery, while taking great care of our customers.

作為首席執行官，我將確保公司專注於零售基本面，經營優秀的商店和線上配送，同時全力照顧我們的客戶。

Kroger is steady because of you.

因為有你，克羅格才能穩定。

The work you do everyday matters.

你每天所做的工作很重要。

And it is what makes the customers coming back and makes Kroger the place they trust.

這也正是吸引顧客回頭並使 Kroger 成為他們信賴的地方的原因。

Kroger is strong, and we have great momentum going coming into 2025.

克羅格實力雄厚，我們邁向 2025 年的勢頭十分強勁。

Thanks, everybody, for joining us today.

感謝大家今天的參與。

It's great to be back home.

回家真好。

And I look forward to our future together.

我期待著我們共同的未來。

Thank you, everybody, for joining the call, you may now disconnect your lines.

感謝大家加入通話，現在可以掛斷電話了。